1st oil change ...DONE

[metalaxe]

Just wanted to thank everyone for their help on here. Finished the 1st oil change (1800 miles) and couldn't be happier to do it myself. Good bonding time with me and the car. Only problem was my oil filter wrench was to big and my oil filter pliers wold not work in the tight space. 20 minutes later, after my wonderful wife went and got me one that fits; all done.

Wow 8 quarts is a lot of oil.

Thanks again for all the helpful posts about jack points, Mobil 1 on sale at Costco, etc..

Now for that 50hp increase from new oil. HAHA

[Banshee]

Glad everything worked out well...almost. At least the oil filter wrench will now be readily available.

Best (and worst) times I have is while working on my cars. I love knowing what to look for as far as issues and just having bonding time.

[SS/GA]

I think I read somewhere here on this forum (or a magazine article?), that it has been recommended that we all should Change the Recommended Oil & Filter at 1,200 mile intervals for the first 10,000 miles or so?

The reason given was, something along this line, "When 'First Change' oil samples were sent out to a lab for evaluation, they were found to contain unacceptable high levels of microscopic metal particles."

Don't be alarmed... We all need to realize that the clearances and tolerances in these engines are much closer, tighter and much more precise than that of the previous chevy v-8s... which means there could be more initial wear.

Oil & Filter is a cheap, expendable insurance!!

Anybody have more info on this, please chime in.

SS/GA

[Banshee]

I just recieved my second oil change analysis from Blackstone labs.

Changed first at 890 miles, then again at 3984. The oil still had high levels of copper and silicon. I have the file on pdf. format if someone knows how to post it.

I would recommend an oil change before, at or around 500-1000 miles and again at 2500-3000.

Here is an excerpt from the analysis..

TOM: High copper and silicon are both common finds in new engines such as yours. The copper is from brass or bronze parts, while silicon is from sealers and sand-casted parts. Both should settle down nicely next time, and silicon should read at or below averages next time, but copper may take a while longer. Universal averages show normal wear levels from the GM LS-3 engine after about 3,500 miles use on the oil. No fuel or anti-freeze was present and all wear other than copper looks great. We see no reason this
won't be a nice engine for you at 3,984 total miles.

Copper was 188, average 56
Silicon was 28, average was 24

So as you can see, this was the end of the second oil change. All other wear items were within normal parameters. So with that, The first oil change analysis was 18 aluminum, average 5, Copper 290 average 56, silicon 47 average 24.